The Chef
Back in the 1980s, Cleveland's restaurant scene left a little — no, make that a lot— to be desired. Then came Chef Zack Bruell.
A Cleveland native and multi-year James Beard Award semifinalist, Chef Bruell learned classic French cooking techniques at The Restaurant School in Philadelphia and immersed himself in the emerging California nouvelle trend under famed Chef Michael McCarty in Santa Monica.
The godfather of fusion cuisine in these parts, Bruell gave us meat and potatoes — but in a newfangled way. Since those early days, he's introduced one winner after another becoming the only Cleveland chef to have had 10 successful restaurants within the city. To top that off, he's got a restaurant-style catering and events company called Zack Bruell Events. And that's just scratching the surface.
The Biz
When Bruell opened Table 45 inside the Intercontinental Hotel & Conference Center in Midtown in 2007, Esquiremagazine dubbed it "one of the most strikingly modern in America." Two years later, he made the "Best New Restaurants" list again with L'Albatros, a brasserie-style gem in University Circle.
Bruell also operates Parallax (Asian fusion) in Tremont, Cowell & Hubbard (French) in Playhouse Square, and Dynomite Burgers in Progressive Field and Playhouse Square.
More recently, Bruell debuted Exploration (fast casual) inside the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and Alley Cat, a waterfront oyster bar in the Flats East Bank.
The Food
While Bruell's restaurants vary widely from French and Italian to oysters and burgers, common threads connect the menus.
Bruell is known for tweaking age-old classics to local tastes and using ingredients people wouldn't typically cook at home. So when the menu offers a beet and beef cheek salad, go for it. Or pappardelle with creamed cauliflower, pecorino and pepperoncini. Or sauerkraut, smoked pork chop, sausage and pork belly. Sounds kind of weird. Tastes kind of magical.
No single menu item is repeated among his restaurants. No matter where you go, you won’t be disappointed, except that you can’t eat more.